Goddess Durga

Goddess Durga is a sight to behold! One hand bears the mudra, Fear not, I will protect you while Her 17 other hands hold tools and weapons to liberate us from that which binds us into thinking we are smaller and less significant than we truly are. Durga sits confidently astride Her majestic tiger, a being who reminds us of our instinctual, powerful, and playful nature. With the aid of Her devoted feline companion, Durga fearlessly rides into any situation that needs Her discriminating and severing wisdom.

Durga embodies the paradoxes of our very existence: she is both warrior and divine mother, both death bringer and creator. She defies western concepts of femininity, her presence expressing the full spectrum of the female psyche. She cannot be reduced to either virgin or whore, but rather is a complex and paradoxical divine model of female empowerment. Durga transcends patriarchal definitions of femininity as passive and submissive and masculinity as active and dominant. She is Shakti-the dynamic creative female force of unbridled power. Durga represents unabashed female embodiment. She teaches us to take up space, to love our bodies and menstrual cycles. She is a passionate lover unafraid to claim Her sexual power and channel its energies towards planetary healing and transformation.

Through Durga we may understand the complete picture of human existence: that fierceness coexists with tenderness, death walks hand in hand with life, that pain and suffering are the complementary realities of joy and ecstasy. She teaches us to confront our fears and transform life’s difficulties. She guides us toward strength and spiritual empowerment. She is the liberator of the oppressed and the marginalized. No problem is too great for Durga to solve. Durga comes to our aid when life is out of balance. However, She is always with us, in peace and in turmoil, for She is the force behind all existence.

Jai Durga Ma!